The present invention is directed to a fixture and method of laying shingles on the surface of a roof or vertical wall. The fixture is particularly useful in laying thin pliable shingles, such as asphalt shingles. However, the fixture may be used to lay any type of shingle including thick rigid shingles, such as cedar or tile shingles. One or more fixtures may be simultaneously employed to rapidly shingle a roof or vertical wall according to the invention.
Heretofore, it has been known to utilize a fixture comprising a pair of fixed rails and a movable rail or shingle support member to lay shingles on a roof. A roof having surface irregularities such as concavities or depressions may pose a problem in laying thin pliable shingles when using a fixture of this type. Thus, a thin pliable shingle may slip beneath the movable shingle support member at the location of the irregularity in the roof surface. The fixture of the present invention provides a guide or abutment surface for the bottom edges of thin pliable shingles, allowing the shingles to be aligned in a row or course, while ensuring that the shingles do not slip below the abutment surface where there are irregularities in the roof surface.
Fixtures proposed in the prior art known to applicant generally utilize a variety of mechanisms for advancing the movable shingle support member along the pair of fixed rails. The fixture of the present invention utilizes a relatively simple mechanical structure for advancing the movable shingle support member so that the fixture is believed to be less prone to failure or malfunction.
In laying shingles on a surface having an obstacle such as a chimney or dormer (roof) or window casement (vertical wall), a workman must lay identical overlapping rows or courses of shingles to each side of the obstacle. The fixture of the present invention permits the workman to lay identical overlapping rows of shingles on both sides of such an obstacle with relative ease.
In shingling a roof having a chimney or dormer by a conventional technique, the workman lays rows of shingles to one side of the obstacle, terminating in a top or upper row spaced above the obstacle. The workman marks the roof surface with a horizontal chalk line aligned with the top edge of the top row of shingles and, using the chalk line as a guide, extends the top row of shingles across the roof surface on the unshingled side of the obstacle. The workman must then locate a horizontal chalk line at the bottom region of the roof surface on the unshingled side of the obstacle to align the bottom edge of the bottom or lower row of shingles to be laid. The location of the chalk line must be such that successive rows or courses of shingles can be laid on the unshingled side of the obstacle from the bottom row to the top row with uniform overlap of all adjacent rows. If the chalk line is not located properly, due for example to a miscalculation on the part of the workman, the top row of shingles will not overlap the row immediately beneath it in the same manner as other adjacent rows of shingles. This non-uniformity in overlap is unsightly and readily discernible. The fixture of the present invention allows the workman to lay rows of shingles to one side of the obstacle and then immediately locate an imaginary line for the bottom edge of the bottom row of shingles on the unshingled side of the obstacle without making any calculation so that rows of shingles can be rapidly laid on each side of the obstacle from the bottom row to the top row with complete uniformity of overlap between adjacent rows of shingles.
In laying shingles on the surface of a vertical wall having an obstacle such as a window casement, the fixture of the present invention permits the workman to lay rows of shingles simultaneously on both sides of the window casement, with uniform overlap between adjacent rows of shingles on each side of the window casement.
In general, the fixture of the present invention enables a roof or vertical wall to be rapidly shingled and with less personnel thereby effecting a reduction in time and skilled labor. The fixture may be used on roof or vertical wall surfaces with or without obstacles. The fixture is made of a simplified construction and is lightweight and portable.
Other objects and advantages of the invention are described hereinafter in connection with the preferred embodiments.